This invention relates generally to bag filling machines and more specifically to a new and improved bag filling machine having traversing latch mechanisms which permit easy positioning of an empty bag onto the bag latches prior to filling the bag.
With the advent of large containers for the shipment of bulk materials from one location to another, there was introduced into this country approximately fifteen years ago large square woven polypropylene bags for this purpose. These bulk bags had a capacity ranging from twenty cubic feet up to seventy cubic feet and would vary in size from thirty-five inches wide by thirty-five inches long by twenty-three inches high up to the same width and length bag having a height of eighty-two inches unfilled.
These bags were constructed with bag loops on the top of the bag which were used for transporting the bags from one location to another. The loops were also used for holding the bags while they were being filled in a filling machine. The bag loops were generally constructed of a strong web-like material which was sewn onto the upper corners of the square bag.
With the introduction of these bags, prior art bag filling machines soon encountered problems in removing the filled bag from the filling machine. Since the filled bags weighed as much as two thousand pounds, the problems encountered were in removing the filled bag from the filling machine. When the bag was filled, a portion of the two thousand pound weight was applied to the bag loops. This resulted in difficulty in getting the bag loop from the device holding the bag in the machine.
The bag loops would tend to hang upon the various rods or hooks used since many times the material being filled in the bag was a sticky material and the environment around the filling machine was one of a dust laden atmosphere containing the sticky material. In FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings of the applicant's before described U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,284 there is shown several of the prior art bag filling machines shown holding the large bulky bags.
In the same U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,284, there is shown in FIGS. 3-10 of the drawings and there is described in the patent the applicant's unique solution to the problems using novel releasable supporting arms which are inclined downwardly and inwardly. This novel arm design will be extensively referred to hereinafter and will also be referred to as latches for holding the bag loops. The applicant's bag filling machine with releasable supporting arms or latches was very satisfactory for use in certain required situations and was well accepted commercially in the marketplace.
However, situations occurred where the placing of the bag loops on the latches resulted in safety and time considerations. The applicant's machine was originally designed with four fixed latches in each corner of the machine. This required the worker to lean into the machine from various positions to hang the bag loops on the latches. In the alternative, the worker would have to move around the machine to place the loops on the latches resulting in more time required to set up the machine for filling the bag.
It was also found that the applicant's unique bag filling machine was often placed in a crowded shop environment which did not easily give the worker access to moving around the machine and he would then have to lean into the machine to place the bag loops on the latches resulting in safety problems.
It was also discovered that many bag filling operations desired to use several size of bags which were not able to be handled by the applicant's original design. While this original unique bag machine had vertical provisions for variations in bag length, the fixed corner latch machanisms of the filling machine permitted only one bag size in the horizontal periphery of the bag.